Plant Medicine

"It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life". Joseph Campbell

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” Krishnamurti

The use of plants have been the principal form of self exploration in the Peruvian Amazon for thousands of years. This practice and the philosophy and worldview that underpin it can easily be misunderstood by people accustomed to Western values and culture. It is in short a completely different way of seeing the world, nature, the body and spirit & soul. When this has been understood - and this can be a long process, the plants can open a completely new paradigm of understanding not only of healing but also the nature and purpose of our lives on this planet.

It is this journey we will invite you to undertake during your stay here. When harnessed and understood the potential that plants have (especially plants from the Amazon rainforest) for healing the mind body and spirit / soul are unlimited in scale and scope. That can not be understated! To really open this door and let this world in, requires both courage and a willingness to let go of many deeper aspects in the complex societies in which we live, we regard as normal and just part of (often a largely unfulfilled) life.

The greatest aspect of this is our relationship with nature itself. Would it shock you to hear that nature herself is only interested in your strength, happiness and fulfillment each and every day? That it is conscious and intelligent and perhaps knows more about you than you do yourself, and perhaps always will? These statements for most of us sound absurd and illogical and go against all we have been taught about how the world works. However they are completely true.

The plants can help in answering the most important human questions – ‘who am I?’, ‘why am I here?’ and ‘in what manner should I live?’ . The understandings received often concur with many ancient spiritual traditions - letting go of attachments and fears are the most common themes that are encountered and addressed. From those core understandings, we can often become aware of our addictions and unhealthy emotional patterns so we have the ability to choose differently in all aspects of life and relationships.

We work with many plants, each one with particular properties - there are a variety of general groups. The "amorosas" are gentle, and can open up the heart and lessen the dominance of the mind. The "master" plants are deeper, more direct and require discipline and a willingness to accept uncomfortable truths. The important thing to state is that there is "no one size fits all" - each person is their own world and will learn more from some plants than others.